


Branded for Crime

by FreakyFox1128



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, I'm Bad At Summaries, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakyFox1128/pseuds/FreakyFox1128
Summary: Xavier was just strolling down the sidewalk when he notices a little, helpless child.*Sorry, I suck at summaries
Relationships: Original Child Character(s) & Original Male Character(s)





	Branded for Crime

There was a chill in the air. The type that penetrates deep into the bones, leaving a feeling of dread. The stars that would usually cover the sky lay hidden in a deep sea of black. The street was empty except for one man strolling down the road.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Xavier thought of how he was going to complete his next project. It was times like these that he wished he didn’t have the job that he had. It was tiresome, hard work, completing each of his projects for they required careful detail in revealing people’s true selves. But they were worth every dime and lost night of sleep. 

He spotted his regular dealer a few blocks away. He could see the gaunt looking man was shivering. Xavier sometimes forgot that not everyone runs as hot as he does. 

As he walked past an open alley, he heard the tiniest sniffling sound.It was so soft that even if someone was listening carefully for it, they would have barely heard it. But as it was, it was quite deafening in the quiet of the street. Xavier stopped, walked back to the opening of the alley and peered in, trying to spot the source of the sound. There wasn’t anything to see at first, but upon closer speculation he could see eyes peering from behind a dumpster. 

He slowly walked to the pair of eyes, not needing to soften the sound of his footsteps as they were naturally quiet from years of practice, and raised his hands to show he meant no harm. When Xavier got close enough, he could easily see that it was a small child. She had smudges of dirt on her face and her clothes looked big on her. Worry, concern, and anger shot through him. The child couldn’t be no more than seven. Who would leave a child all alone like this? 

The anger must have shown on his face because the next thing he knew, the girl whimpered as she was shying away, making herself smaller. “Hey hey, shh. It’s okay little one, I’m not going to hurt you,” Xavier whispered. He knew his appearance probably wasn’t helping matters. The half-inch scars that littered his face certainly weren’t flattering and neither was his unshaven stubble for that matter. 

When it became clear the small girl wasn’t calming down, he decided to use alternative methods.  
He started singing. 

“Over in Killarney, many years ago  
My Mother sang a song to me in tones so sweet and low,  
Just a simple little ditty, in her good old Irish way,  
And I’d give the world if she could sing that song to me this day.  
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral" 

The girl quieted down and looked hesitantly at Xavier. She was much calmer now, still not trusting, but Xavier knew that was normal in this situation. The song always did work on him when his mother needed a way to calm him down. 

“You all right, clementine?” Xavier quietly asked. The small girl nodded. “All right. Want to tell me your name then and why you’re all the way out here? Don’t you know there are some very nasty people out here at this time of night?” 

The girl was silent for a moment, then hesitantly she opened her mouth, "My . . . my name is Evelyn.”” 

Xavier smiled. “Okay. It’s nice to meet you Evelyn. My name is Xavier. Want to tell me what you’re doing out here all alone?” 

“I . . .,” a few seconds ticked by, “I was trying to get away.” 

“Away from where?” 

“Mommy and daddy,” Evelyn meekly said. A cold breeze came by and she shivered. Xavier took off his burgundy blazer and wrapped it around the freezing girl as he picked her up. Xavier was in deep thought wondering what would cause a child to run away from her parents. None of his theories were pleasant. The real question was what he was going to do. He had a meeting to get to, and he certainly couldn’t take a child with him. He may be very morally ambiguous, but he wasn’t a cruel, thoughtless monster.

His thoughts were interrupted by Evelyn’s small yawn and he decided right then and there. His meeting was just going to have to wait. 

“How about I take you back to my place, get you comfortable, put some food in your stomach, and you tell me why you ran away, hmm? How does that sound?” Xavier asked. Evelyn’s face took on a thoughtful look. She seemed to be weighing her options and then she nodded. Xavier gave her one of his best smiles and walked in the direction of his home. 

His home was modest. It certainly wasn’t wealthy looking, but it wasn’t rundown either. It had steps that lead up to the front porch and the entryway had a glass door in front of the main one. Xavier had a lantern hanging by the front and a potted plant at the top of the steps. 

He got Evelyn settled on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a wool blanket. She still looked uncertain and surely didn’t trust him, but she looked a little more comfortable in the warmth of the house. She wasn’t shivering anymore and her cheeks took on a more healthy glow.

He asked her what happened that led to her running away. As she spoke, Xavier felt his hands clench and his nails dig into his palms. She didn’t give details, but he didn’t need them. He could fill in the blanks himself just fine. 

He could feel his anger and loathing steadily rise. How could they hurt their own child! These were the type of people that his projects involved. The lowly, despicable cretins of the world! Those that use innocents for their own gain.

Evelyn’s parents just made him all the more certain that what he was doing was good.

From then on Xavier decided to help this child the best he could. Only from distance though. He couldn’t keep her. He shouldn’t keep her. He knew what he was. He was aware of himself enough to know he wasn’t the best for her. Not only that, but it was very weird from an outsider’s point of view. Like he was some groomer, and he would rather not be even compared to those disgusting cretins of humanity, thank you very much. After the parents were dealt with, he would make an anonymous call to the police and drop Evelyn off at the front steps of her house. Hopefully no one would see him. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The sky took on a lighter tone, edges of orange, pink, and red slowly burning the sky like paper turning to ash. A slight breeze rustled the trees and the temperature wasn’t as numbing as before. Granted it was still cold, but now the sun was starting to rise and warm up the land.

Xavier watched at a distance; the parents’ bodies were being brought out of the home. The house was surrounded by police and news vans. The vultures were reporting the two bodies as the police added them to his count.It was some of his- well, he wouldn’t say best work- but one of his better ones, especially on such short notice.

The police had took Evelyn to the station. They were going to question her, but they weren’t going to push. After all, she was only a child. She wasn’t going to reveal him. She was aware he made her parents - well, not quite disappear - but go away and that if she were to reveal him, he would be in trouble. Children tended to not want people they liked to be in trouble. Xavier knew Child Protective Services would make sure she went to a good home. Of course, he was going to keep an eye on her anyway. You could never trust foster homes, he knew this from experience.

In the meantime, he was going to continue his work. Continue what he was doing before. As much as he would love to take a break, he can’t. After all, his work is never done and there’s always someone new to punish.


End file.
